Greetings, today I’ll present to you the step by step process of one of the pieces forming part of a drawing series that I started last year regarding figurative tendency, surrounding a topic inspired on anthropomorphic lacustrine characters, such as fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, reptiles and aquatic mammals, fused with other beings that describe part of the myths, legends and stories that surround the Maracaibo Lake, on the State of Zulia, Venezuela, where I am from, and since I grew up in the oil-dedicated town of Lagunillas on its eastern coast; and I found my creative muse on stories that I had heard for a long time, and those have been commented on its shores by locals and fishermen, in reference to fantastic beings like mermaids and marine monsters described since the Colonial Period, some benign while others ponder darker intentions and love to frighten those who would have the privilege or bad luck to encounter them, just as it usually happens on the stories concerning other water beings along the world.
Those cases about fantastic animals and creatures, both extinct or paranormal, are studied and researched by a science named Criptozoology, from here comes the title of this series: “Lacustrine Cryptozoology” and the conceptual aspect of it.
The free-character composition structure, is totally founded on the work of execution, in the lightness of the stroke and the dynamism of the lines, combined one over the other, both diagonals and curves that generate rhythm and movement, giving much more expressive power to the entire work.
Formally, if we sink on the figurative relations of the piece, it describe a series of aquatic beings or anthropomorphic characters, developed through drawing as a mean of graphic and gestural expression, where line predominates as the main element on the character definition and construction of the composition, everything solved by the pen and gouache in black ink and sepia technique, which offer a huge range of hues and variety on the expressive side of the work presentation, everything done on 300gm CANSON Watercolor Paper of 45.7 cm. high and 61 cm. long.
TOOLS
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
SKETCH
I start creating a base structure using concentric elements with the help of a compass and a graphite pencil ruler.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
Then, the lines that make up the circular elements emulating the shape of the gears are sketched by hand with graphite pencil.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
GOUACHE
Afterwards, a gouache with diluted Sepia ink is applied with a brush to highlight planes and deepen chiaroscuros.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
CONSTRUCTION
When the Gouache is done, forms are drawn spontaneously as well as the contours of the main figure with the stylus with sepia ink.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
Those strokes are done in order to strengthen the formal character structure and the elements that comprise it by defining it graphically.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
CROSSED LINES
Then, crossed lines are drawn over this figure, using the stylus with sepia ink in order to deepen the chiaroscuros and hues, eventually retouching with sepia gouache with a brush wherever it's required to strengthen the tones according to the planes and the depth.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
Finally, sparkles are applied with a brush to recreate the sensation of movement and dynamism breaking with the rigidity of the main character, granting him expressive force, through gestural movements.
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
FINAL
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
|| Photo with a Lumix/Panasonic DMC-FH2 ||
SUMMARY
José Enrique González Márquez [ @KamaronGo ]
Especial Thanks to @tesmoforia for her help taking record of this piece.
kamarongo13@gmail.com